Dreams Of A Forgotton Tavern Girl
by CityGirl13
Summary: *ONE SHOT* Mat flirts with any pretty girl that he sees in a tavern, but he never stays. Some forget him and move on. Others, like Aerivyne, never could forget him. How could she ever forget the man who changed her life in as many ways as he?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first Wheel of Time fic, so sorry for any slip ups in canon.**

**Hope that you enjoy it!**

Aerivyne's POV

**First Night**

The Gentleman's Rest was a popular inn in the city of Cairhien, it was a tidy establishment with a strong reputation for no nonsense. The Innkeeper was a stout man, by the name of Aldrin. The inn did good enough business that he could afford to keep up to a dozen serving girls in service to help with the customer load. One of these girls, an independent eighteen year old named Aerivyne, was on duty one night when she met someone who would change her life. She herself was only a mere blacksmith's daughter, born and bred in Cairhien and now an orphan. She had been working in The Gentleman's Rest for nearly six months now and found it to be satisfying enough, if a little unexciting. She dreamed of someday finding something in life that really made her feel alive. When she was little her mother used to read her stories of the great heroes and heroines of old, Birgitte Silverbow and Gaidal Cain, Rogosh Eagle-eye and the great Artur Hawkwing. She dreamed that someday she'd be a great hero, but it was no more than a dream. She knew that a girl of her standing would never manage to achieve the great heights that were necessary to become a notable hero.

Her other dream was of joining the ranks of the Aes Sedai and going into battle wielding the One Power. Such a dream was possible, if she could be taught to channel and found someone to take her to the White Tower in Tar Valon. But again, the chances of her meeting an Aes Sedai were quite slim in her position.

It was just after sundown and the inn was starting to fill up with the evening rush, all of the serving girls were needed to make sure that the patrons received the service that they expected from an inn of this stature. Aerivyne was making her rounds around the tables with a jug of spiced mulled wine when the door opened, letting in a cold draft of air. The man who entered was dressed like a man of high standing, with light embroidery of his well cut coat and well tailored breeches to match. He carried an odd looking spear with him, a tell length of black metal topped with a wicked curved blade, almost fit to be a sword. With a wide brimmed hat pulled down over his face Aerivyne couldn't identify him, he definitely was not a regular visitor to the inn.

He certainly didn't look like anyone from around these parts, but with the Aiel having just taken the city all manner of strange people were flooding in. One would wonder why with the Dragon being in the city, but then again, as many people feared him as loved him. For despite all the terror he was prophesised to bring, he was the world's only hope of salvation against the Dark One. Not to mention getting in good with the Dragon could mean a serious political gain, more and more nobles were flocking in from their country estates just for a chance to rub shoulders with him.

For her part Aerivyne couldn't see the appeal, the Dragon for all his future importance was only a man. It must be hard having all those people trying to be friendly with you, whilst simultaneously planning your demise and their own rise to power. _Daes Dae'mar_ had never really made sense to her, what was the point of such plotting and scheming against one another while pretending to the world that you are the greatest of allies? She was glad that she had been born a simple blacksmiths daughter, even if it meant that her father had been called to war whether he liked it or not. She still remembered the day when the news had come of his death, the shock of it had sent her mother mad with grief and pain. She had not lasted the week out. Much as Aerivyne wished for the peace and time that her would need to properly mourn her parents deaths, she knew that one would never survive long in Cairhien if they let grief cripple them. So within a week of her parents being buried she'd secured herself a position at The Gentleman's Rest, which provided well enough pay and was a better choice than many, and life moved on. King Galldrian's death had set in motion events that would change Cairhien, hopefully for the better.

With the city on its knees and riddled with Civil War as various nobles Houses vied for the throne the coming of the Aiel over the Dragonwall had looked like the end of all things. Aerivyne was not old enough to remember the last Aiel War, but the horror stories that her parents had told her were enough to ingrain within her a fear of these savages. When the Dragon had come to their rescue, bringing with him his tame Aiel had seemed like salvation. At least now with him sitting in the Sun Palace there was a sort of peace over the city, despite the outcry over his claim of giving the Sun Throne to Elayne Trakand. Again, Aerivyne didn't see a problem with this, the Daughter-Heir of Andor had as much claim to the Throne as any Cairhienin. A shame that many didn't share this view point, the turmoil of Succession would be so much easier if they could. But where would the nobles be without their _Daes Dae'mar_?

Lost in her thoughts Aerivyne didn't notice that she'd stopped walking and had been standing in the middle of the room until Aldrin called out to her, "Aerivyne! Stop lazing about and get this man a drink." He gestured to the strange man who had entered a moment ago and was now sitting up at the bar.

"Yes sir, sorry," she apologised as she quickly made her way over.

"Just make sure this doesn't become a habit," he warned, trying to look stern but failing. He really was a good man.

"Would you like some mulled wine sir?" she asked the man.

He took off his wide brimmed had revealing a head of dark brown hair and turned to her, "Why yes I would indeed, and what might your name be pretty eyes?" he asked flirtatiously, his own pretty eyes glinting with mischief.

Aerivyne laughed as she filled a cup that one of the serving maids handed her from the counter, "Aldrin won't stand for customers trying to take advantage of the serving maids."

"Ahh but I'm doing nothing of the sort," the man replied, "I'm just inquiring after the name of a pretty girl serving me wine."

"And what would you need to know my name for stranger?" she asked, playing along with his game. He was quite a handsome man, she put him to be a few years older than her, tall and with those gorgeous eyes.

"Why so that I might put a name to the face that will haunt my dreams for nights to come," he replied dramatically.

Aerivyne laughed again, "Surely stranger, you mean your nightmares."

He feigned a wounded look, "Why dear lady, how could a face such as yours enter a man's nightmares? With your eyes like deep pools set in a background of such beauty, how could I do anything but dream of you?"

"Ahh your sporting sir," she said with a wave of her hand, "Such dramatic words have no place in a tavern girl's life."

"Please," he called out as she turned to serve others, "Leave me your name, mine is Mat."

She smiled, "Well since you tell me yours I suppose it's only fair, I'm Aerivyne."

"See? That wasn't so hard now was it?" he teased with a cheeky grin.

"I suppose not, enjoy the wine." And with that parting remark she was off amongst the tables once more.

After doing this for about half an hour she had her break in the kitchens where she could rest for half an hour and grab something to eat, before going back out for the dinner rush. Just as she was sitting down to a nice looking mean of beef stew with potatoes and beans her friend Coralyne sat down beside her.

"You know that strange man who came in about an hour ago?" she asked.

"The one with the strange spear?" Aerivyne asked.

"That's the one," Coralyne confirmed.

"What about him?" Aerivyne inquired, starting on her dinner.

"Well you do know that he's been staring at you for the past hour," Coralyne stated.

Aerivyne nearly choked on her mouthful and had to gulp down some milk to help, "He what?"

Her friend grinned, "He has barley taken his eyes off you the whole time he's been here."

"Ohh really?" Aerivyne tried to achieve a nonchalant tone of voice.

"You are _not_ fooling me with that tone!" Coralyne exclaimed, "You noticed how handsome he was and you would have to be blind to not be interested."

"And if I'm not?" Aerivyne said.

Coralyne grinned, "I wouldn't believe you, for one thing: a man as nice looking as that doesn't walk in here all that often, for another: you always talk about meeting someone and going off into the sunset for adventures and all the rest. And finally: you're blushing as red as a tomato."

"I am not!" Aerivyne protested indignantly, hand rushing up to her cheeks and feeling the heat there, "It's just warm in here that's all."

"Uh huh," Coralyne said, clearly not believing Aerivyne's not so convincing lie, "He is clearly interested in you, when you walked in here he started looking like some kind of lost puppy."

Aerivyne scoffed, "Ohh he did not."

"Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration," Coralyne conceded, "But have you ever known anyone to ignore Sara when she tried to flirt with them?"

"I highly doubt that he ignored her, he's a man and she's probably the prettiest out of all of us," Aerivyne pointed out.

"Okay maybe he didn't exactly _ignore_ her," Coralyne admitted, "But he didn't exactly pay her anymore mind then to slip her a coin her giving him another cup of wine. And you could probably give her a run for her money in the 'whose prettier' argument."

"You are too kind," Aerivyne said, voice dripping with false sincerity.

"Please! Just because you're blind to it doesn't mean the rest of us aren't, especially not a certain patron tonight," she teased.

"Ohh, blood and ashes! Would you leave that alone," Aerivyne snapped, nothing's going to happen.

"I'm not so sure about that," Coralyne said mysteriously.

"Coralyne," Aerivyne began warningly, "What did you do?"

"Nothing bad, don't worry," Coralyne soothed, "I just may have answered a few of his questions about you."

"Light, you _what_?" Aerivyne asked incredulously.

"Hey." Coralyne held up her hands placating, "It wasn't anything bad, I swear. You know that I wouldn't tell him anything you wouldn't want known."

Aerivyne gave a frustrated sigh, "I know."

They sat in silence for a few moments while Aerivyne finished her dinner and Coralyne got up to fetch hers. When she got back Aerivyne turned to her and said with a mischievous glint in her eye, "He _is_ rather handsome."

Coralyne grinned back at her, "Well what are you waiting for girl? On with you!"

Aerivyne laughed as she handed her plate back to the kitchen maid and retied her apron, "I told you, nothing's going to happen."

"We'll see," Coralyne called out, as Aerivyne left the room.

Back in the main room of the inn the night was in full swing. A Gleeman was now set up on one side of the room and entertained the guests with stories of the Age of Legends, while in a dark corner the dicing began. Aerivyne picked up a full jug of wine and began her rounds once more, pointedly ignoring Mat who hadn't moved from his place at the bar. After a doing this for a few minutes she felt someone come up behind her.

"Are you avoiding me Aerivyne?" Mat's voice whispered in her ear.

"Not at all," she replied while turning around, "I just never saw you with an empty cup."

In one smooth movement he lifted his cup to his lips and drained the remaining wine, "It's empty now."

Aerivyne filled it, "There you go, now it's not." She tried to turn away and continue with her duties when he caught her arm.

"You _are_ trying to avoid me," he said, eye full of suppressed laughter.

"I am not," she replied.

"Perhaps avoiding is too strong a word," he conceded, "But you are going out of your way to not see me."

"You are mistaken sir," she said, trying to turn away again.

"Please," he said softly, "Call me Mat."

"Very well, Mat, please excuse me I have work to do," she gave a small curtsy and swiftly made her way to the other side of the room.

She reached a shadowed corner, away from prying eyes, where she put down her jug and fanned her flushing face. Why did that man go out of his way to talk to her? He was not the first patron to try and do so, but he was the most instant by far. Normally most backed off when she threatened to tell Aldrin, scared of being thrown from the inn. It was odd however that Aldrin hadn't intervened yet, normally he would step in for his maids if patrons were less flirtatious than Mat was. Why was it that he hadn't stopped him yet? Even while thinking this Aerivyne couldn't help but feel a small sense of happiness that he had not, which was odd considering she normally was adamant with his 'no flirting' rule.

Aerivyne put a hand to her head and tried to sort through the tangle of thoughts that lay there. Yes, Mat was an attractive and seemingly nice man who seemed to have taken an interest in her. But judging from his attire he was also quite high up in the ranks, meaning that he was just walking around taverns for a good time. She did like him, how could she not? He had a handsome face and was teasingly flirtatious in a charming way. But she was realistic enough to know that nothing could happen, that last thing she wanted was to lose her head of heart over a man who would leave without looking back and Mat had 'heartbreaker' written all over him. She sighed, best just to act like he was just another customer. He'd be gone tonight and never return tomorrow anyway.

Taking a deep breath she picked up her jug of wine and moved back amongst the throng of people that populated the inn. She couldn't help but pass a cursory glance around the room to see where Mat was, to her surprise she found him seated amongst the dicers. She hadn't put him down as a gambler, but then again, she didn't exactly know him at all.

The rest of the night passed by without anything out of the ordinary happening; as closing time drew nearer the inn slowly began to empty. As patrons made their way back to their homes or up to their rooms at the inn, the long process of clearing up began for the maids.

"So," Coralyne came up to the table the Aerivyne was whipping down, "Anything that you want to update me on?"

"Nothing at all," Aerivyne replied.

"I don't buy that," Coralyne said.

"Well it's the truth," Aerivyne replied stiffly.

Just as Coralyne opened her mouth to keep questioning her Aerivyne was saved by Aldrin.

"Aerivyne," he called, "Come over here, I've got a job for you."

"Duty calls," she whispered triumphantly to Coralyne before calling back to Aldrin, "Coming."

Unfortunately her feeling of victory at making an escape from Coralyne's interrogation was quickly changed to dread when she saw the job that Aldrin had for her. A passed out Mat lay sprawled over the dicing table, his possessions lay in an untidy heap on the floor next to him.

"Help this man back up to his room," Aldrin commanded.

"He's staying here?" Aerivyne asked, shocked.

"Yes," Aldrin replied, "He paid for a room upstairs for several nights."

"Several nights?" Aerivyne echoed.

"Yes girl," he replied impatiently, "I did not take you for a fool when I hired you, now do as I say and help this man up to his room. He's staying in the third room on the second landing."

"Yes sir," she grumbled mutinously.

"Good," he replied, before walking off to oversee the rest of the cleaning.

Giving a frustrated sigh Aerivyne turned back to Mat and gave his a shove, "Wake up."

He mumbled incoherently before slipping back into sleep.

She gave him a stronger shove, then hauled him to his feet, "Get up you, you need to get to bad."

"Huh? What?" his words came out with the slur that affected drunks.

"To bed with you," she said, putting his hat on his head and thrusting his strange spear into his hand. He managed to grip it surprisingly well for one in his condition.

"Come on," she sighed, putting one of his arms around her shoulder so that she could help him walk.

His weight dragged down on her, but at least he seemed to be making an effort to support himself so that she wasn't dragging him up the stairs. When they reached the door to his room she had a bit of a struggle getting it open without dropping Mat, she managed however, and helped him over to the bed in the corner.

"There you go," she said, depositing him rather roughly onto the mattress.

However she wasn't prepared for the arm that he'd left around her shoulders to tighten in grip and pull her down with him. She gave a muffled yelp of surprise as she landed on his chest and his arm snaked around her waist. She pushed herself up and found him staring up at her with his teasing eyes full of mischief, and not the slightest trace of drunken fog.

"Why you!" she exclaimed, trying to push herself off him.

"Calm down," he replied lazily, not loosening his grip in the slightest and struggle as she might she could not escape.

"You pretended to be drunk so that I'd have to help you up here!" she accused.

He again feigned a wounded look and pressed her hands over his heart, "You make me sound like some kind of cold hearted man who preys on women!"

"Aren't you?" she retorted.

"Well I didn't know for sure if it would work, I mean, the old innkeeper could have given the chore to someone else," he admitted, with a cheeky grin, "But I was hoping that it would be you."

"And if it hadn't been?" she challenged.

"Then I would have dropped the act and come upstairs on my own," he replied gallantly. And then, without warning, he raised his head up and kissed her full on the lips.

Aerivyne was so shocked that for a moment she could do nothing, for a split second she felt herself respond to the kiss but then she tore herself away. "You should not have done that," she whispered furiously.

"You didn't seem to mind so much," he pointed out.

Aerivyne realised then that she had stopped her struggle and that her hands were still pressed to his chest; which she couldn't help but note, was rather well muscled. Quickly she jerked out of his grasp, feeling her face flush once more. Mat seemed completely unbothered and lay there staring up at her with a winning smile on his face, that smile made her want to go back into his arms and stay there. But she strengthened her resolve and turned for the door, "That was not proper conduct sir," she said stiffly, "I bid you goodnight and hope that you enjoy your stay at The Gentleman's Rest."

"Ohh I think that I will enjoy it very much Aerivyne," he called out to her.

She didn't reply, simply walked out of the room and shut the door with force behind her. Through the old wood she heard Mat laughing, she pressed her back against the door and covered her face with her hands. Why was all this happening to her? Why couldn't he have just taken a fancy to one of the other girls? Hopefully she wouldn't have to deal with him again tomorrow; she dreaded the thought of facing him after what had just happened.

She shook her head, as if to clear it when in fact it did nothing of the sort, and made her way down back down to the main room.

"What was all that about?" Coralyne asked the moment she stepped back into the room.

"Nothing, I don't want to talk about it," Aerivyne snapped back.

Coralyne looked slightly hurt by this but Aerivyne didn't feel up to apologising. They continued with their cleaning for the next half hour in silence until Aldrin instructed them all to go to bed.

When Aerivyne reached hers she lay down and tried to find sleep, but she couldn't stop think about Mat. She still felt outraged that he'd taken the liberty of kissing her, yet at the same time, she couldn't help but enjoy the fact that he had. These confusing, conflicting thoughts circled all around her head and the more she tried to stop thinking about the stronger the thoughts got. She wasn't sure when, but finally she made it into sleep. But even her dreams ended up being invaded by Mat's presence.

**Second Night**

The next morning when she woke up her head felt marginally clearer, but she still could not shake thoughts of Mat from her mind. All throughout the day as she went about her various duties she couldn't stop thinking about him, about his trickery, about his kiss. She knew that she shouldn't be having these thoughts, she was just a tavern maid and judging by his clothing he was some kind of minor noble. There was no point on thinking of him, but no matter how much she tried to rationalise her mind she couldn't stop the traitorous feeling of hope that lived within her.

That night the inn was packed once again and Aerivyne was kept remarkably busy. Making sure that the guests' wine cups were full, clearing finished plates away and making sure that everyone was kept in order. She barely had time to look around for Mat, but that didn't stop her from thinking about him and wondering why he wasn't there. When she was walking back to the bar to refill her jag of wine she felt someone behind her, without turning she knew that it was going to be Mat.

"Do you sneak up on girls all the time?" she asked.

"Only the ones worth sneaking up on," he replied, moving in front of her.

She arched an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

"Yes it is." He flashed her that smile that made her weak at the knees, "I wanted to apologise for my conduct last night, it was improper of me and I'm sorry."

Aerivyne had the sneaking suspicion that he was trying to worm his way into her good graces once more, but he was so charming about it that she found herself forgiving him despite her misgivings.

"Consider yourself forgiven," she said with a smile in return, "But if you try something like that again I won't go so easy on you."

"Then I'll be on my very best behaviour," he assured, cheeky grin belying his comment, "Is that by any chance a jug of wine?"

Aerivyne laughed, "Not at the moment but if you let me into the kitchen it will be."

"Very well then." He stepped aside with a gallant bow, "I eagerly await your return."

"Is it my return or the return of the wine that you're looking forward to?" she asked teasingly.

"How about both?" he replied with his winning smile.

She laughed again before stepping into the kitchen to refill the jug.

"You look awfully happy," the cook commented.

"I am," Aerivyne replied.

"Might I ask what bought this on?" the cook inquired with a grin.

"Just a charming patron being kind," Aerivyne said with a smile.

The cook's grin fell slightly and her eyes took on a warning cast, "You'd best be careful my girl."

"Whatever do you mean?" she inquired, puzzled.

"Just don't put too much stock in this going anywhere," the cook said gently, "They may say that they're here forever, or that they'll take you away and make you a lady but those are just false promises. They'll be gone before you know it dear and you're left with nothing but a broken heart. Trust me."

"Ohh I know," Aerivyne assured, "But that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy it while it lasts," she added under her breath.

When she got back out into the steamy tavern she filled up a cup and handed it to Mat, "There's your wine."

"Thank you," he replied, "Don't I get to keep your company for a little more?"

"Sorry," she said, "I've got patrons to serve, I'm on refill duty."

"Well maybe later then," he whispered, brushing a hand down her face softly.

"Maybe later," she found herself echoing.

"Aerivyne!" she heard Aldrin call.

"Duty calls," she said to Mat.

"Well you'd best be off then," he whispered back, giving her a small nudge in the direction on the innkeeper.

"What do you think you're playing at girl?" he asked when she reached him.

"Whatever do you mean Aldrin?" she asked innocently.

"Don't try and play that with me girl," he warned, "What is going on between you and Master Cauthon?"

"Who?" she asked, before realising that he meant Mat, "Ohh! There's nothing going on sir, honest."

"There had better not be, I run a tight inn here and there'll be no funny business. As it is Master Cauthon is paying a considerable amount for his room and tipping generously besides, so I'm half a mind to be more lenient with him than my other patrons. But that don't mean that I'm not above throwing him out if I see fit, do you understand?" he asked, face all seriousness.

Aerivyne gulped, "Yes sir."

"Then be off with you child, it's a bust night tonight," he waved her off fondly.

The night wore on and Aerivyne found the she had little time for talking with Mat, but often if she looked over at him it was to find him staring at her. When this happened they would nod and smile at each other, before going back to whatever task it was that they had been doing beforehand. When the night was about half way gone she came out of the kitchens from her dinner break to find people moving the tables and the Gleeman warming up his flute for a tune. Mat came up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Fancy a dance?" he asked, eyes as usual glinting with laughter.

"I'm in the middle of working Mat, I couldn't," she protested.

"It's alright," he assured her, "I've even asked permission all proper like from the innkeeper over there and he said it was fine."Aerivyne was sceptical on that fact considering the conversation that she'd just had with Aldrin. But sure enough, when she looked over at him he was waving her in the direction of the makeshift dance floor that had been cleared. Before she could turn back to Mat with an excuse she felt a tug from behind her and whipped around to find that Mat had pulled off her apron and tossed it over to the side.

"Come on," he said, holding out his hand.

Aerivyne shook her head and backed away, "I can't."

"Why ever not?" he challenged with his trademark grin.

"I can't dance," she admitted red faced.

"Why that's no excuse at all!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand and pulling her out onto the floor.

"Blood and ashes Mat!" she cried out indignantly, "I'm not kidding around, I _really_ don't know how to dance."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing that I'm particularly excellent at leading," he retorted as he pulled her up in front of him, "And you should watch your language," he chided mockingly while taking her right hand in his left and placed his other hand on the small of her back.

"And modest as well," she muttered under her breath before adding, "You can talk, I can't count the number of times I heard you swearing over at the dice tables."

"But of course," he replied with a charming smile, "And I swear only when the occasion demands it, which as it so happens, is quite often. Now put your other arm on my shoulder."

Knowing from past experience that she would not be able to escape his strong arms she complied. She couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her when, as the Gleeman began a soft melody, he used the hand on her back to pull her _much_ closer to him. They now stood so close that there was barely a hairsbreadth of space between them, it didn't help that he was much taller than she and Aerivyne found that in this position the top of her head barely scraped his chin.

"Relax Aerivyne," he whispered in her ear, "Just let me lead you."

"Okay," she found herself replying.

More people had partnered up by now and by the time the Gleeman launched into the full spin of the song, there were at least fifteen couples out on the floor. The tune was a fast paced jig that Aerivyne knew she didn't have a hope of keeping up with; fortunately Mat was as good at leading as he said he was and she managed to go along with him and not look too much like a fool. After that first dance she found that she was actually enjoying herself, unfortunately several dances later she had to plead for a rest. Her hair had come out of the braid that she normally used to hold it back with, and now the long brown locks were all over the place. She reached behind her to re-braid it but felt a hand stop her.

"Leave it out pretty eyes," Mat said, "It looks very nice when you don't have it all braided away."

"I'll get in trouble if I don't," she pointed out, "And you're the one with the pretty eyes."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Am I now?"

Aerivyne realised what she'd just said and blushed furiously, "I mean- I didn't-"

Mat let out a roaring laugh, "You look awfully cute when you blush Aerivyne."

"Shut up," she muttered, his comment making her go even more red.

"Sorry, did I embarrass you?" he asked, not sounding like he meant it at all.

"Yes you did," she replied.

"My deepest and most ardent apologies milady." He swept her a gallant bow, "May I have another dance to make up for my lapse?"

Aerivyne found herself laughing, "Why not!"

He grinned down at her, "That's the spirit! And you are not actually that bad at dancing."

"You're too kind," she said.

"Believe me, I'm not," he replied.

Before she could ask what he meant he had already swept her back out onto the floor. The rest of the night passed in a happy blur for Aerivyne, she spent another hour or so dancing with Mat before Aldrin came up and tapped him on the shoulder reminding him the she had to go back to work. Mat had let her go without complaint, not wanting to risk over stepping his bounds with the innkeeper. Aerivyne could feel Coralyne's gaze boring into her for the rest of the night, but she pretended not to notice, knowing that she would be faced with a thorough interrogation during clean up.

As the tavern slowly began to empty out Aerivyne felt a slow feeling of slight dread begin to creep in over her happiness. What was she going to say to the others? Before she could get too lost in that train of thought a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up to meet the sparkling eyes of Mat Cauthon.

"Hey pretty eyes," he said softly.

"You're the one with pretty eyes," she replied, echoing their earlier conversation.

He grinned down at her, remembering also. "I'm heading up to bad now, but if you could bring me a cup of warm milk before you go to your own. It helps me sleep."

Aerivyne looked at him suspiciously, "Really?"

"Honest," he said, eyes looking so innocent that she knew he was lying.

Aerivyne was highly sceptical on his level of honesty, "It wouldn't be for a while, I've still got clean up to do."

"Doesn't matter," he replied, "I don't fall asleep for a long time anyway."

Aerivyne sighed, "Fine, I'll get you your warm milk."

He flashed her that smile that made her feel weak at the knees, "I appreciate it."

And with that he was off up the stairs. By this time the tavern had emptied out fully and Aerivyne was left at the mercy of her co-workers.

"Tell. All," Coralyne said, coming up to her within seconds.

"There's not much to tell," she replied, hoping to get out of it.

"Ohh no you don't!" her friend exclaimed, "I want all the details."

"Yeah, no holding out," Sara added, coming over to join them.

"We danced, he was nice, that's all," she insisted.

They looked disappointed, "It looked like a hell of a lot more than that."

"Well it wasn't," she retorted, "Can you two just leave it alone? Light, you're worse than my mother was about men."

They didn't look happy about it but they didn't pry for information again, which Aerivyne was thankful for. After about half an hour however, Coralyne came up to her again.

"I'm glad that he came," she said.

"Mat?" Aerivyne asked.

"Yes, he's clearly made you happy," Coralyne pointed out.

"I was happy before," Aerivyne replied.

"But not like this," Coralyne said, "Before you were happy that' true, but you still had a shadow of sadness about you. Since he's been here I haven't seen that shadow, you've been more carefree then I've ever seen you before. Especially with the dancing tonight, I would never have expected it of you just a few days ago. I just want you to know that, no matter what others may advise I know you're smart enough to make the right choices, you wouldn't lose your head or heart over the wrong kind of man, But I just want you to know that even if others don't approve, I am glad that he's taken an interest in you. You've so much happier around him and you've got a light about you that you didn't have before. I just wanted you to know that."

Aerivyne was shocked, she hadn't known all of this, "Thank you," she whispered back, slightly at a loss for words.

"You're welcome," Coralyne whispered back with a smile.

When the time came for them to go to bed she stayed behind under the pretence of doing some extra cleaning. Once everyone had gone to their own beds she crept into the kitchen. Warming a cup of milk in the embers of the fire she added some spices to give it some more flavour, before taking it upstairs. When she reached Mat's door she stood outside for a few moment gathering the courage to knock, this was not a good idea, she shouldn't be doing this. Before she could pull out and go back downstairs however the door was opened from the inside to reveal Mat. Aerivyne stood there in shock for a moment; he was casually leaning against the doorframe, looking not the least bit concerned, while clad in only his breeches.

She quickly lowered her face in an attempt to hide the blush that she felt spreading there, "Here's your milk."

"Why thank you," he replied and she could hear the suppressed laughter in his voice, "Won't you come in?"

"I-I –I really shouldn't," she managed to stammer out.

"Don't worry," he soothed, "Just to talk."

She stayed silent for a moment going over her conversation about Mat with Coralyne in her mind, would it really do any harm if she stayed to talk?

"Alright," she answered, taking a step into his room.

He went over to the table and pulled out the only chair for her, "Would you take a seat?"

"But then where will you sit?" she asked.

"If you'd rather I could take the seat and you could sit on me," he offered with a cheeky grin.

"Uh," she was at a loss for words.

He laughed, "I was just teasing you Aerivyne, I'll sit on the bed."

"O-Okay," she replied, going over to the chair slowly.

Before he sat down he walked over to his bag and pulled something out, turning back to Aerivyne he held it out to her.

"A gift for you," he said, pressing the thing into her palm.

She looked down at it to see what it was and a small gasp escaped her. It was a golden locket that hung suspended from a chain of the same gold. It was a simple round shape but the front had been engraved with a fox, while on the back words had been etched into the gold.

"_Dovie'andi se tovya sagain_," she read out, "What does it mean?"

"Time to roll the dice," Mat translated, "Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful," she acknowledged, "But it's too much."

He wouldn't accept it when she tried to hand it back to him, "Please, it is a gift. If it helps all I did was have the Old Tongue engraved on the back. The locket I won and it already came with the fox on it. I just thought that you might like it."

"I do," she said honestly, "But I can't accept a gift like this, it's far too expensive a present for a simple tavern girl."  
>"Please take it," Mat insisted, "Pretty girls deserve pretty things."<p>

She opened her mouth to protest but he placed a finger over her lips to silence her.

"You are a pretty girl Aerivyne," he whispered, "Please just accept the gift."

She found herself trapped looking up into his deep brown eyes and could only nod in reply. He smiled and she felt her heart flutter, "That's good then."

He took his finger from her lips but instead of moving away he placed one hand back on her waist while the other ran through her hair, which was still loose from the dancing. He slowly drew her closer and closer, until there was barely any distance separating them.

"Mat," she breathed, "What are you doing?"

"Shh," he whispered back, and with that he closed the final hairsbreadth and softly pressed his lips to her own.

Unlike last time he went slowly, not wanting to scare her off. Instead of being demanding he was asking. Aerivyne felt a moment of doubt about her actions but it did not last long, she responded to his kiss and wrapped her own arms around him. Soon the kissing turned for the gentle beginnings to a more passionate need. Mat picked her up without their lips breaking contact and carried her over to the bed.

**Third Night**

The next morning when Aerivyne woke she felt a little disorientated, where was she? Then as she felt a pair of strong arms tighten around her waist she turned around and came face to face with Mat. The whole of last night came crashing back and Aerivyne couldn't help but smile as she gazed at Mat's sleeping face. He looked so peaceful.

Carefully, so as not to wake him, she slipped out of his arms and off the bed. He gave a small moan in his sleep at the loss of contact but turned over and was soon quiet again. Aerivyne couldn't wipe the smile from her face as she dressed, doing her best not to make any noise so as not to wake him. Last night had probably been the best of her life and she knew that no matter what happened today, tomorrow or even ten year from now, she would never forget last night. When she was fully dressed she took the locket that he had given her and placed it around her neck, the chain was long enough that it wouldn't raise any awkward questions. Taking a final look back at the sleeping Mat she quietly left the room and went downstairs.

She hoped to go un-noticed for at least a while but she had no much luck, the moment she slipped into the kitchen Coralyne came up to her and forced her into a chair.

"Alright," she said, "I'm not falling for the 'nothing's going on' trick anymore. You didn't come to bad last night so where were you?"

Aerivyne started blushing furiously, "None of your business," she muttered.

Coralyne's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock, "You didn't!"

When Aerivyne didn't respond, just hung her head, she gave a little squeal of excitement.

"YOU DID!" she cried out.

"Blood and bloody ashes," Aerivyne swore, clapping a hand over Coralyne's mouth, "Could you be a little quieter?"

Coralyne nodded, her eyes still full of excitement and laughter. Aerivyne let her go with a sigh only to be engulfed in a breath squeezing hug.

"I can't believe it!" her friend said with enthusiasm, but thankfully not with volume, "I never expected you to do that! But here I am proved wrong! Ohh my little girl's all grown up."

"Could you shut it?" Aerivyne retorted, "I don't need everyone knowing, Aldrin would have my head."

"Aldrin would have your head about what?" the man himself asked.

"Well speak of the Dark One and so he shall appear," Coralyne muttered.

"What was that Coralyne?" he asked.

"Nothing sir," she replied quickly.

"That's what I thought," he gave her a warning look, "Now what would I have your head about Aerivyne?"

"Uh... umm..." she tried furiously to think of something.

"She didn't rinse the cups out a second time after washing, the way you normally like us to," Coralyne lied.

Aldrin raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? I'd have thought that you two would know me better by know to know that I wouldn't 'have your head' over such a small thing. What do you take me for?"

They hung their heads in pretend shame, "Sorry sir."

He smiled fondly, "No problem at all girls, now see about your business."

After he left Aerivyne let out a sigh, "Thanks," she said to Coralyne.

"No problem," she replied with a wave of her hand. Suddenly her eyes narrowed and she pointed a finger at Aerivyne's chest, "What is _that_?"

Aerivyne's hands flew up to see what it was, they met the cool metal of her locket from Mat, "It's nothing," she replied, hastily tucking it back under her dress.

"That did not look like nothing," Coralyne protested, reaching out and tugging it free again.

"Hey!" Aerivyne protested.

"Pretty thing," Coralyne acknowledged, "What do the words on the back mean?"

"It's time to roll the dice," Aerivyne said, "Now leave off!"

"Alright, alright," Coralyne mock pouted as she released the necklace, "That's from him isn't it? You haven't even told me his name."

"It's Mat, and yes it is," Aerivyne gave short answers for both questions.

"That is quite a gift." Coralyne whistled, "What did he give it to you for?"

"He just gave it to me, he wouldn't let me give it back," Aerivyne replied.

"Well I'll say one thing for this Mat, he's definitely got good taste,' Coralyne pointed out.

Aerivyne couldn't help the small smile that played around her lips, he did indeed.

Later that morning, as she was clearing away a patron's breakfast, someone came up behind her and put their arms around her waist.

"Good morning," Mat whispered in her ear.

"I'd almost say good afternoon," she teased, turning around.

"What can I say? I'm a heavy sleeper after such exhausting nightly activities." His eyes sparkled with their usual mischief.

Aerivyne quirked an eyebrow, "Is that so? Well perhaps you'd better get some rest tonight then."

Mat fell to his knees dramatically and clutched his hands to his chest as if suffering a mortal wound, "Would you leave me without your radiant company? If you did I fear that I might not last the night!"

"Mat Cauthon!" she chided, "I've told you before that such dramatic words have no place in the life of a girl such as I."

He grinned up at her, "Does that mean I will not have to suffer without you tonight?"

She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, "Why I said nothing of the sort."

"I'm sure I distinctly heard you say that you would be happy to join me," Mat teased.

"Well I'm afraid that you need to have your hearing checked," she joked back, "Now please get up, I'll get in trouble if Aldrin sees you like this."

He got up carefully and took her in his arms before planting a soft kiss on her lips, "I've got to go out for the day, but I'll see you later."

"Okay," she breathed back, momentarily dazed.

He gave her his charming smile, "See you then."

And with a final peck on the cheek he was off out the door. Aerivyne put a hand up to her face as if she could forever keep the lingering feeling of that kiss there. But then with a shake of her head to clear it she resumed going about her daily activities, looking forward to when night came.

Mat's POV

After a day spent making sure that the Band was ready to move out the next morning Mat was more than happy to be back at The Gentleman's Rest. It was one of the nicer inns that he'd visited, and it still had a good range of folk up for dicing. Not something that one often found in nice establishments. Not to mention the wide range of pretty girls that old Aldrin had on hand as serving maids. Aerivyne in particular was a beauty; with her long brown hair that shone with hidden tints when caught in the light, her face was beautiful with her small delicate features and her large eyes, like deep pools that a man could happily swim in until he drowned. She seemed to think that he was the one with the pretty eyes, it reminded him a little bit of Melindhra whenever she said that. She'd also thought that he had pretty eyes, and a nice backside to boot. But Aerivyne really was a pretty thing, he was glad that she hadn't taken as much chasing as he thought she was going to. He really did enjoy her company, she wasn't a bad dancer and had a lovely smile, but Mat flirted with girls all the time. He enjoyed kissing and cuddling them but he was always moving on, he wondered sometimes how many broken hearts he left behind him. Not often though, it didn't do good for a man to ponder on such things.

He liked staying in this part of Cairhien though, around here he could walk around without people trying to bow and scrape before him just before he was friends with the bloody Dragon Reborn. Not to mention here no one knew that he'd been the one to kill Couladin, some things a man did not want to think on. Bad enough that people thought that he'd sought him out on purpose, not many people knew that Mat Cauthon had in actually fact been attempting his smooth getaway and been caught right in the thick of things. Killing Couladin had not been on his agenda that day, in fact, killing anyone hadn't been on his list of things to do.

He'd be glad when he could move on again with the Band, although he had to admit that he's miss Aerivyne's smiles and charm. Ahh well, he shouldn't think on these things before they happened. There would be time enough to wonder how he should say his farewells, or indeed, if he even should. He snuck through the door of the inn only an hour or so from closing time, Aerivyne caught his eyes the moment he entered and he gave her his best smile. She grinned back at him and then went back to her work; Aldrin shot him a warning look from where he was on the other side of the room. Mat gave him a smile and a wave; he didn't want to be throw from the inn on his last night there. He weaved his way through the tables until he came up behind Aerivyne, he put his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"Do you sneak up on other girls as often as you do on me?" she asked.

"You're just so much fun to sneak up on," he teased back, planting a kiss on top of her head.

"Is that so?" she replied dryly, but he could hear the smile in her voice even without seeing her face.

"Yes it is," he replied, "I'm going to head up stairs now, will I see you later?"

She turned around and looked up at him with a small smile, "Perhaps you will."

He gave her his best smile in return, "Until then." He swept her a gallant bow and was off.

Another thing about Aerivyne was puzzling him, the moment he'd set foot inside The Gentleman's Rest he'd felt something odd. But when she had come over to him and offered him a drink the dice had started rolling around in his head. And Mat did not like it one little bit when the dice started up, it normally meant something eventful was heading for old Mat Cauthon, and that thought put him right on edge. Normally he would run head long for the hills if someone he met started up the dice, but Aerivyne _was_ a rather pretty girl. He figured it couldn't be _too_ bad so he'd decided to stick around, for a few days at least. It was certainly better than walking around with Cairnienin nobles trying to use him to get close to Rand, anything was better than that.

Once he was up in his room he wasn't quite sure what to do with the time he had left before Aerivyne came up. He practised his knife throwing for a while, not that he needed to, but after a few minutes of hitting his target dead on he got bored. In the end he just lay in his bed staring up at the ceiling and thinking. This was becoming an increasingly common pastime for Mat; back in The Two Rivers he'd hardly had need for such deep thinking as he partook in now. He missed the simple life sometimes; back home everything had been so much easier. But then again, there wasn't really much adventure going on back in Emond's Field, just sheep and tabac.

He didn't know how long he lay there, just thinking about this and that, before the door creaked open and Aerivyne poked her head around it shyly.

He grinned over at her, "I wasn't expecting you for some time yet."

She gave him a smile in return and stepped further into the room, "I have a 'stomach ache' and my friend is covering for me."

"I've turned you into a right rule breaker haven't I?" he joked.

"Yes, you have fully corrupted me. I was such a good girl before you came along," she played along with his dramatic game.

He arched an eyebrow sceptically, "Is that so?"

"What?" she feigned a hurt expression, "You don't believe me?"

He laughed, "Of course I do, now what are you standing over there for?"

She blushed prettily, after what had happened last night how could a comment like that make her blush? Not that he minded much, she looked even more a beauty when she did so. Slowly she made her way over to where he was lying on the bed, very graciously she lowered herself down and he wrapped her up in his arms.

"How was your day?" she asked.

He gave a tired sigh, "Uneventful and boring till I saw you."

She laughed, "It can't have been as bad as that."

"You'd be surprised," he replied dryly, "What about you?"

She echoed his earlier sigh, "Nothing much happened that was out of the ordinary, life here is so boring."

"You should have seen the place where I grew up," he said, "Just a small little village where everyone knows everyone and the sheep outnumber the people."

"It sounds charming," she replied with sincerity, "Cairhien is one of the larger cities, if not quite so grand as Caemlyn or Tar Valon, and all the while I'm living here in the city doing nothing with my life."

"Well what would you like to be doing?" he inquired.

"When I was little my mother used to read me stories about all the old Heroes of the Horn, you know, Artur Hawkwing and all the rest."

Mat gulped, he'd seen those very heroes himself when he'd used the Horn of Valare as Falme and he did not like being reminded of it.

"I'd like to do something that would be remembered, like them, to have tales of your deeds sung in Ages long after your passing is a kind of immortality in itself." She gave a dry laugh, and turned so that she was facing the ceiling "But I know that I don't have the skills to become a great hero, my second dream after that is to go to Tar Valon and become an Aes Sedai. That at least is a dream within my grasp, if I can even channel and find a way to get to Tar Valon. Not something I'm likely to do on a tavern girls wage."

Burn him, would he never be free of Aes Sedai?

"You never know," he encouraged, "The Heroes of the Horn started off as perfectly ordinary folk like you or I."

"But you're hardly ordinary Mat," she pointed out, "The moment you came into the inn something felt... different. I can't explain it, but I know that you are something special."

_Bloody_ ta'veren, he thought to himself. Brings as much trouble as it does usefulness.

"Believe me pretty eyes." he turned on his side and pulled her face around to face his, "I'm not as special as I might seem."

She turned so that her whole body was facing him, "Well you are to me," she replied softly, "And _you're_ the one with the pretty eyes," she added, before giving him a kiss that drove most thoughts from his mind.

Mat woke with the coming dawn and looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms; Aerivyne really was a beauty. He brushed a soft kiss over her forehead before slowly slipping his arms from around her and moving off the bed. She stirred slightly in her sleep and muttered something, it sounded like his name, but he wasn't sure. At least her smiles indicated that whatever it was she was dreaming at the moment was something pleasant.

He dressed quietly in the pale dawn light and just as he was about to head out of the door he took one last look at the sleeping girl. The necklace that he'd given her was clutched in her hand. He wasn't sure what, but something made him put down his bags and search through them until he found what he was after. Coming up with a crumpled bit of paper and a slightly worse for the wear pencil he put a small bag of gold marks, he'd won while dicing, on the table and wrote her a little note.

'_Don't be afraid to follow your dreams.'_

He didn't sign it; she'd know who it was from. At least now she'd have the money that she would need to get where she wanted to go, he could at least give her that. A last instinct in the back of his mind caused him to add another line to the note and pin it to the table with one of his daggers. As he did this however, that set of dice that had started up when he'd seen her came to a crashing halt. What about giving this girl a pouch of coin and a dagger could possibly be fateful for old Mat Cauthon? Just as well he was leaving now; he didn't want to stick around to find out.

He brushed a parting kiss across her lips and was out the door and making his way down the stairs in a flash. Knowing that he'd never see her again in his life; that was Mat Cauthon, he came and he went. Without so much as a backward glance he strode off down the sleepy streets of Cairhien, there was work to be done.

Aerivyne POV

The moment that she woke Aerivyne knew that Mat had gone; she could no longer feel his comforting warmth on the bed beside her. Somehow, in her heart, she knew that he wasn't just out in the town and would be back in the evening for a drink. He was gone for good. She'd been expecting this the whole time, but all the same, she couldn't help the slight ache in her heart as she realised that she wouldn't see him again. She wrapped the sheet around herself and wondered over to where her dress lay in the floor on a heap. She couldn't' remember exact details of how it had come to be on the over side of the room, but she didn't really care. As she crossed the small room she noticed that mat had left some things behind on the table. Wondering she saw a note that read: _'Don't be afraid to follow your dreams and don't forget to defend yourself pretty eyes. _Dovie'andi se tovya sagain._'_ It wasn't signed but it was clearly from Mat, he even added his little saying down at the bottom. Left with the note was a small, but well made, dagger and a small pouch.

She lifted up the little pouch to open it and she felt her eyes widen at the weight and the clinking sounds that came from within. Her suspicions about what lay within it were confirmed when she opened it to reveal a shining collection of gold marks. She'd never seen that much money together in her life.

"Ohh Mat," she whispered to the air, "Thank you."

She got dressed, her mind filled with a new hope, and made her way downstairs. When she got into the kitchen a disappointed looking Aldrin was seated at the table waiting for her, she knew without asked that he knew what had gone on between her and Mat.

"You're not an idiot Aerivyne so I know that you know what it is I want to discuss," he said.

She gulped, "Yes sir."

He looked at her with pity and disappointment in his eyes, "Aerivyne, you know that I run a tight inn here, and that I keep strict rules; rules that I must enforce."

"Yes sir," she repeated.

"I am truly sorry to do this Aerivyne," he said, and she believed him, "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask to you quit this job. You know the standards that I set for my girls and you broke them, I can give you your pay for the rest of the week and recommendations for the next job you take. But I'm afraid that you will have to vacate The Gentleman's Rest by the end of the day."

"It's alright sir, I'll have my things packed and by gone before the afternoon." Oddly she felt no resentment over losing her job, but rather, a sense of freedom.

"Thank you for understanding child," he said gratefully, "I truly am sorry."

"Don't sorry sir," she comforted, "it's really and truly fine, better than, it's brilliant!"

He looked at her with confusion but didn't ask questions as she made her way quickly to the room that she shared with Coralyne.

When she entered she found Coralyne sitting on her bed waiting for her, when her friend saw her she rushed up to her and wrapped her in a fierce hug.

"Ohh light Aerivyne, I'm so sorry!" she sobbed out, "I don't know how he found out, I guess he must have checked while I wasn't here and-" she choked off, unable to continue.

"It's alright Coralyne," Aerivyne soothed, "I'll be fine don't worry."

"But." She paused to wipe the tears from her eyes, "Aldrin had to sacked didn't he?"

"Yes he did," Aerivyne affirmed, "And It's the second best thing to happen to me."

Coralyne gave her a look, "Have you gone mad?"

Aerivyne laughed, "No I haven't, merely, had my eyes opened. I have Mat to thank for that."

Coralyne arched an eyebrow, "Are you running off with him then?"

"No, he's already gone," Aerivyne sighed, "But him coming into my life has made all the difference, now are you going to help me pack?"

While Coralyne graciously agreed to help her Aerivyne darted upstairs to fetch the things that Mat had left for her. She had no firm plans for her future now, but that was the beauty of it; just the rough idea fading into the great unknown. She tucked the dagger into her belt and carried the money pouch and note back down to her room.

"What's that?" Coralyne asked when she re-entered the room.

"Parting gifts from Mat," Aerivyne replied, before carefully tucking the note and pouch into the small rucksack that contained all of her things.

"I'm going to miss you," Coralyne said, tears pricking her eyes.

"I'll miss you too," Aerivyne replied, and felt tears in her own eyes.

Coralyne walked her to the door and just before she left Aerivyne reached into the money pouch in her bag and pulled out a few gold marks.

"For you," she said, pressing them into Coralyne's hand. And then she was off before her friend could try to give them back.

Aerivyne wondered around the city for a few hours, with no particular destination in mind. A couple of hours past noon she found herself at the docks, looking around at the various ships that were readying to set sail she thought over Mat's note. _'Don't be afraid to follow your dreams...'_ In a split second she knew what she was going to do.

She went up to the closest ship that looked like it was going to sail within the hour and called up to the captain, "Where are you headed for?"

"Tar Valon," he called back.

_Perfect,_ she thought to herself, "Do you take passengers?"

The man came over to her and looked down at her sceptically, "Can you pay?"

"What do you charge?"

He thought for a moment, "fifteen gold crowns," he said finally, giving her a triumphant look; he clearly didn't expect her to be able to pay.

Aerivyne relished the astonishment on his face when she counted out fifteen marks from the coin pouch and handed them to him, "Do we have a deal?"

"Blood and bloody ashes," he swore, but it was too late to back out now, "Alright lass, come aboard, we sail within the hour."

Excitement filled Aerivyne's heart as she eagerly boarded the ship; she was called _Sea Wind_, and looked to be a sturdy enough vessel. Not that Aerivyne had much, or any, experience with ships. There were a lot of people going about their various tasks around the deck and Aerivyne staying close to the railing so that she wouldn't get in the way. The captain was true to his word and within the hour they had cast off and were sailing away from Cairhien and toward Tar Valon.

As she looked back to the city of her birth and life Aerivyne had the sinking feeling that she would never see it again. But overlying that sense was the powerful surge of joy building up within her. She was finally doing it, going off to Tar Valon to be an Aes Sedai.

"Thank you Mat," she whispered to the wind as she turned her head to gaze out into the distance, dreaming of the future.

_**Tarmon Gai'don**_

When Aerivyne arrived in the White City the sight almost took her breath away. It was like nothing she had ever laid eyes upon before, such towering majesty of the White Tower and the shimmering white walls of the city itself. Once she arrived it proved to be difficult to gain an audience with the Aes Sedai but once she did she asked to be tested to see if she could be taught to channel. The Aes Sedai was sceptical at first, but agreed to test her. Aerivyne was pleasantly surprised that she could indeed be taught to channel the One Power, she was only of average strength, but that didn't bother her overly much. She knew that the Tower had age limits but she didn't know exactly what they were, so when the Aes Sedai had asked for her age she had lied and put herself a year down; telling her that she was seventeen. Thankfully the Aes Sedai hadn't raised her eyebrow at that and Aerivyne had been accepted into the Novice ranks.

A year and a half after that, once the Tower had been made whole again by the new Amyrlin Seat Egwene al'Vare, she had been raised to Accepted. This was part of the increase of the number of girl being tested so that they could have sufficient numbers for _Tarmon Gai'don_.

And it was on the battle fields in the Great Blight that Aerivyne now found herself; fighting alongside her fellow sisters against the hordes of nightmarish Trollocs and over creatures of the Shadow. Somewhere on the slopes of Shayol Ghul the Dragon fought the Dark One himself. Aided by a host of Asha'men and Aes Sedai as he tried once more to seal the Bore and trap the Dark One back in his prison. The Accepted had been given more appropriate garments for battle and now, instead of her normal white dress banded with the colours of the seven Ajah's, she wore a darker grey one that was divided so that movement was not so restricted. All around her Accepted, Novices and what other channelers were not fighting with the Dragon brought down Shadowspawn with weaves of the One Power. The battle was in full swing and despite the sheer numbers of the enemy they were not giving in, they would fight until they had no life left in their bodies or until the Dark One was defeated once more.

The scent of death and blood filled the air, this combined with the smoke that rose from bodies that had been killed with Fire made Aerivyne's senses disorientated. But she was a member of the White Tower, she would not falter in the face of such trivial a matter. Looking around she saw a fallen channeler with an _angreal_ still clutched in her hand. This was luck, most of the _angreal _and _sa'angreal_ had been taken by the channelers with the Dragon. She quickly grabbed up the small statue and felt the increase in the flow of _saidar_ that she was drawing from the Source. Being filling with _saidar_ always heightened her sense of... well everything. She was glad for the extra Power that the _angreal_ allowed her to draw as another wave of Trollocs pressed forward. She blasted them aside with Air and used Fire to kill them outright, if one got too close and her Flows were otherwise occupied she found great use for the dagger that Mat had given her so long ago.

Her gaze swept over the field of battle as she tried to access the situation, the Trollocs and their Myrddraal commanders fought to press back the army of Borderlanders that she was currently aiding. She saw another company of men being hard pressed by the Shadowspawn, but they fought valiantly on underneath a banner bearing the sign of a red hand. She decided that the Borderlanders would be fine with the aid of the few other Accepted that were among them, and began to struggle her way over to the men under the red hand banner. She didn't know who they were exactly, the banner wasn't something she recognised, but they were fighting against the Trollocs and that was enough for her. But as she neared them her _saidar_ enhanced vision allowed her to see the string of words written beneath the red hand _'Dovie'andi se tovya sagain,'_ Aerivyne drew in a shocked breath.

"It's time to roll the dice," she translated softly. Then her eyes widened as she realised who must be leading that group of men, sure enough, as she looked closer there he was: fighting the Trollocs with amazing skill with his strange spear.

"Mat," she breathed.

It was him for sure, he looked older and one eye was now missing, but it was still the same Mat who had changed her life in so many ways. Her struggle to reach that company of men increased and she poured all of her strength into fending off the Shadowspawn that blocked her path. Suddenly she felt a shield try and smash it's way between her and the Source and only managed to cut if just in time. As she fought against the Weaves that this unseen Dreadlord threw her way a feeling of dread entered her stomach. Looking up again she saw a Myrddraal coming up behind Mat, he was busy fighting off a group of Trollocs and hadn't turned around to notice. Aerivyne know that she couldn't divert much strength from her defences against the Dreadlord and she also knew that her knife throwing skills where non-existent.

Drawing on more _saidar_ through the _angreal_ than was probably good for her, she wrapped a small Weave of Air around the handle of her dagger and used that to send it plunging into the Myrddraal's heart. This didn't by any means kill the thing, but it delayed it long enough for Mat to realise the danger and dispatch the Trollocs so that he could face it. He seemed surprised to see one of his own dagger hilts protruding from the Myrddraal's chest, but did not let this distract him in his attack.

Knowing that Mat was safe, Aerivyne renewed her efforts against the Dreadlord, and finally located her standing in the midst of a Trolloc fist not far away. Aerivyne distracted her by attempting to throw a shield at her, while sending a small thread of Fire that struck the woman in the heart. That now dealt with, Aerivyne turned back to Mat's band of men and threw fireballs at the Trollocs pressing them, in an attempt to give them some more room to manoeuvre. When she had a clear view, she used another small thread of Air to bring her dagger back to her. Mat followed the dagger as it travelled back to her hand and stared at her in confusion for a moment, she felt a slight pang as she realised that he didn't recognise her. She gave him a grin anyway, then turned her attention back to the fighting, knowing that he would do the same.

She was too busy trying to bring down a Myrddraal when she felt a slight premonition. She couldn't turn her attention away from the Fade however and because of this she did not see the Darkfriend that came up behind her with a knife for her back. She felt it enter her body but she didn't feel it hit her heart or lungs, the shock of it however caused her to lose her hold over _saidar_ and collapse to the ground. The fact that the knife hadn't pierced any vital organs did not mean that it was not a mortal wound. She didn't cry out for a channeler to Heal her, their strength was far better served fighting for the Light, she knew that she would not survive long and she accepted that. Happy to have been a part of the force of Light fighting for freedom against the Dark One's taint.

She did not know how long she lay there for, staring up at the tumultuous sky, but at some point she saw a flash of brilliant white light across that sky and heard the screams of Shadowspawn. This made her smile, she knew that it signalled the Dragon's victory and therefore the victory of the Light. She could now die knowing that the forces of good had triumphed.

Aerivyne closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again she was surprised to find herself gazing up into the beautiful eyes of Mat Cauthon. He looked down at her with concern, and she saw in his eyes that he knew she would not last even if he ran for a Healer.

"You saved my life," he said, "Thank you."

"It was no trouble," she replied, "You are the one who put me in a position to do so."

He looked puzzled for a moment before recognition dawned in his eyes, as if to confirm he reached around her neck and pulled out the necklace that he'd given her.

"Aerivyne," he breathed.

"So you remember me after all." she tried to say it in a teasing way, but the pain in her voice made that impossible.

"Course I do pretty eyes," he said softly.

She smiled, "You're the one with the pretty eyes."

That made him grin, "So you became an Aes Sedai after all."

"Just an Accepted, never quite made it all the way," she told him, "But I would still be a maid in Cairhien if not for you, you told me to follow my dreams and gave me the means to."

"So I did," he said with a smile, "And I see that leaving you with my dagger was also a good idea."

She tried to laugh but coughed blood instead, "So it was."

She could feel herself fading fast, and the look in Mat's eyes said that he knew that too.

"I'm glad I got to see you again," she whispered faintly, darkness clouding her vision, "One last time."

"Me too," came his faint reply.

The last thing she felt was him gently raising her up in his arms, and brushing a soft kiss across her brow. Then the world slipped away.

***Phew* Longest one shot that I've ever done. **_**Tarmon Gai'don**_** probably isn't going to go the way I wrote it but it hasn't been written yet so I'm free to imagine. **

**Hoe that you guys liked the story and please leave a review!**


	2. Theme Song: A Real Fine Place To Start

**Theme Song for Dreams Of A Forgotten Tavern Girl:  
>Sara Evans – A Real Fine Place To Start<strong>

I'm gonna do it Darlin'  
>I could waste time tryin' to figure it out,<br>But I'm jumpin' anyhow.  
>I've never been this far<br>Didn't know love could run so deep  
>Didn't know I'd lose this much sleep<p>

Holdin' you close, chasin' that moon.  
>Spendin' all night,<br>Lovin' just who you are  
>Sparks flyin' in the dark<br>Shootin' out lights, huntin' down dreams,  
>Figurin' out what love really means<br>Baby givin' you my heart,  
>Is a real fine place to start.<p>

Something is goin' on  
>I can't explain but sure can touch<br>It's callin' both of us.  
>Stronger than any fear or doubt,<br>It's changing everything I see  
>It's changing you, it's changing me.<p>

Holdin' you close, chasing that moon.  
>Spendin' all night,<br>Lovin' just who you are  
>Sparks flyin' in the dark<br>Shootin' out lights, runnin' down dreams,  
>Figurin' out what love really means<br>Baby givin' you my heart,  
>Is a real fine place to start.<p>

Right here, right now's the perfect spot, the perfect time.  
>The perfect moment when your skin is next to mine.<p>

Holdin' you close, chasin' that moon.  
>Spendin' all night,<br>Lovin' just who you are  
>Sparks flyin' in the dark<br>Shootin' out lights, runnin' down dreams,  
>Figurin' out what love really means<br>Baby givin' you my heart,  
>Is a real fine place, real fine place to start.<br>Oh yeah  
>Oh,oh,oh<p> 


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